


Plus and minus

by FooFighter0234



Category: Earthian
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-22
Updated: 2011-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-27 20:11:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/299593
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FooFighter0234/pseuds/FooFighter0234
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Raphael confesses to Michael, and Michael tells him something that will change his life.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Plus and minus

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Rose Argent (roseargent)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/roseargent/gifts).



“Michael? Can I talk to you about something? It’s kind of important to me.” Raphael glanced over at the fair haired Angel sitting across from him, hands folded around an ornate silver teacup, eyes cast downwards, as if trying to read his reflection in the liquid, or divine his future.

“Yes, Raphael? What is it?” Michael stopped looking at his teacup and smiled.

“I-I’ve been thinking about this for a long time and…”

“Yes? Go on.” Michael set down his teacup.

“I think I’m in love with you.” Raphael stared down at his hands and waited for the slap, the sting of a simple word: no. He waited for Michael to get up and walk away, to go back to whoever else he loved. Instead, Michael reached out and took Raphael’s pale, shaking hand in his own.

“How long have you felt like this, Raphael?”

“It’s been years. I didn’t want to tell you because I didn’t know what you’d think…”

Michael laughed. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner? I’m not mad at you, you know. In fact, I think I’m in love with you too. You remind me of someone I met once. He looks a lot like you.” “Yes? What’s his name?” Raphael leaned closer. “His name is Kagetsuya. I met him once when I was visiting Lady Gabriel.”

“But I thought you two were in love!” Raphael was stunned. “We are in love, very much so, but she understands, and she told me she wouldn’t stand in our way.” Michael smiled again, put an arm around Raphael’s shoulders, and continued “She says that as long as we’re happy, that she won’t stop us from being in love. She also told me that the deepest love can be between two people of the same sex. I remember Kagetsuya telling me that he was in love with a black haired Angel named Chihaya.”

“Black hair? Does he have the Cancer? Is he going to die?” Raphael bit his lip, unsure of what to say, as he knew that black hair meant bad things happened. He had heard of the Black Cancer, and if an Angel showed its wings to three humans, it would catch the Cancer, have its wings turn black, and slowly and painfully die from it. It was a terrible way to die, and he was confused as to why a normal Angel would fall in love with a black haired one, much less one who was stricken with the Cancer, if only because of curiosity about the world the Earthians lived in.

“No. You see, he was born with black hair and black wings. He’s an orphaned Angel. Noone wanted him, so he was placed in an orphanage. That’s when Kagetsuya found him. You know about Plus and Minus checkers, right? Plus checkers check all the good things that the Earthians do, and Minus checkers check all the bad things that they do. Kagetsuya took Chihaya in and taught him how to be a Plus checker. Now Chihaya and Kagetsuya work as a pair of Plus and Minus checkers.” Raphael nodded. “I do know about them. Why are we not part of the Plus and Minus checkers?” “We aren’t a part of their kind because we’re part of the nobility. We have no need to be a part of them. They do all the work for us. Why? Do you want to be a part of their kind?” Michael asked, and Raphael shrugged.

“I don’t know if I do. I mean, I’ve always wondered about how the Earthian live, and what they do on their little blue planet. I know that they were able to get 10,000 pluses, so we didn’t destroy them, but what’s gonna happen now? Are they going to have to start over from zero? Is the world going to be destroyed this time?” Michael smiled and mimicked Raphael’s shrug. “I honestly don’t know, Raphael. It all depends on what the Earthian do. They decide the fate of their world, whether it be good or bad. We are only the arbiters of their decisions. If they do well, we reward them with long and happy lives. If they do not, we punish them with death and heartache. They are the only ones who can change their fate. We have no say in what they can or cannot do to change their lives. If we did, the world would have ended a long, long time ago, based on all the bad things the Earthian have done to themselves and to others. War, famine, disease, suicide, so many things that they do to others and to themselves. If their fate were in my hands, I would make it so that they would stop hurting themselves and others, and use their God-given talents to help people.” Raphael smiled shyly and squeezed Michael’s shoulder.

“Michael, you’re a lot kinder than the other Angels say you are. I like that.” “Why do you say that? I would say I’m a pretty kind person.” “Well…a lot of the other Angels that I’ve talked to said you’re mean.” Michael laughed. “I’m not mean. Just because I’m the Angel of war doesn’t mean that I’m a mean person. They must have caught me on a bad day. I’m usually pretty nice. I like watching the Earthian about their business every day. Makes me almost feel like a normal person. It makes me wish I could go down there without being afraid of catching the Cancer, just so I could see what it would be like to be an Earthian, even if just for one day.” “Maybe we can someday. You never know. Maybe someday someone will find a cure for the Black Cancer, so we could go and live with the Earthian and be able to watch over them every day without having to worry about anything. We could go together, just you and me. And we could be Plus and Minus checkers, just like Kagetsuya and Chihaya are. We’ll start a new life someday, just you and me.”


End file.
